John willabd bolte



Nov. 9, 1926.

J. W. BOLTE SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR SMALL LIVE ANIMALS Mm W. 0 B 1 r a I V 2 U 1 W n WM 0 0 m J 2...? ,1 w 1 J 9. 2 1 J a d m F v BY A TTORNEYS Patents Nov. 9, 1923.

JOHN WILLARD BOLTE, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR SMALL LIVE ANIMALS.

Application filed January 9, 1926. Serial No. 80,141.

It is common practice at the present time to ship small live animals such, for instance, as baby chicks, by express or parcel post. The containers for such purpose must, from practical necessity, be comparatively light, sufiiciently strong, properly ventilated and so arranged and proportioned that too large a number of the chicks may not huddle together in too small a space.

One of the principal difliculties which has been experienced in the use of packages of this kind is to prevent smothering of the animals by blocking the top ventilators by superposed packages.

Heretofore the most common package for use in shipping baby chicks has been :1 box base formed of fiber or corrugated paper board with perforated sides integral with the base, and a box-like telescopic cover having its top sheet perforated and with wooden cross cleats secured to the top sheet so as to form a support for superposed articles sufhciently raised from the plane of the top sheet to insure against blocking the ventilating perforations.

The object of my present invention is to produce a satisfactory shipping package, for the purposes mentioned, which may be produced more cheaply than previous packages, while at the same time insuring (without the use of attached spacing elements) against any smothering of the animals.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention.

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a preferred embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 a vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 a vertical section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig 4 a vertical section of a modification, and

Fig. 5 a perspective of the form shown in Fig. 4t.

In the drawings 10 indicates the bottom sheet and 11 the side walls, said side walls being, in the form shown in the drawings,

integral with the bottom sheet and pro vided with flaps 12 overlapping and secured to the adjacent side walls. A convenient size of shipping package is large enough to conveniently carry one hundred chicks, but if it were possible for so many chicks to huddle close together, it would not be possible to provide sufficient and proper ventilation and many of the chicks would become smothered. For this reason I provide, as usual, two cross partitions 13 and 14:, each having end fiapsl5 by which they are secured to the side walls. These partitions are, in the main, similar to partitions which have been used heretofore butthey differ in that their upper edges do not extend throughout in the plane of the tops of the side walls. In the preferred form shown in the drawings, partition 13 is, throughout, of less height than the side walls, while partition 14: is as low at its middle as the height of partition 13, while at its ends its height is equal to that of the adjacent side walls.

Resting upon the upper edges of the partitions 13 and 14 and upon the upper edges of two opposite end walls, is a sheet cover 16 lying between the two other side walls and preferably havinga length sufficient to project slightly beyond the side walls upon which it rests. The cover 16 is perforated and conveniently formed of a single rectangular piece of fiber-board or corrugatedboard with a lightly defined fold lino across its middle so that, when it is placed in position over the partitions, it may be sprung down at its middle so as to rest firmly upon the upper edges of partitions 13 and 14.

Any suitable means may be used to hold the cover 16 in its depressed position, but I believe that the simplest and cheapest means will be two ears 17, 17 struck out from the body of the adjacent side walls so as to overlie the cover at its depressed middle.

It will be understood that in small containers partition 14 might be omitted and partition '13 depended upon to properly brace and support the cover, or that partition 13 mi ht be omitted and partition ll be depended upon.

The side walls are provided with ventilating passages 18, at various points in their heights, some of said ventilating passages being below the cover and some being above any article which may be superposed upon the box.

it will be understood that, in the smaller sizes, the partitions will not be needed- It is to be understood that the term ventilating passages used herein is intended to apply equally to any opening or space through which ventilation may occur.

I claim as my invention:

1. A shipping container for small live animals, comprising a sheet bottom, sheet sides connected with the bottom and provided with ventilating passages, a cross partition between the sides, and a perforated sheet cover resting on said partition with side-wall ventilating passages both above and below the cover.

2. A shipping container for small live animals, comprising a sheet bottom, sheet sides connected with the bottom and provided with ventilating passages, a cross partition between the sides, some portion of the upper edge of said partition lying below the upper edges of side walls, and a pertoratedsheet cover lying between two opposite side walls and resting upon'the partition above some of the side wall ventilating passages.

3. A shipping container for small live animals, comprising a sheet bottom, sheet sides connected with the bottom and provided at various heights with ventilating passages, a cross partition between the sides,

some portion of the upper edge of said partition lying below the upper edges of side walls, and a perforated sheet'cover lying between two opposite side walls and resting upon the partition above some of the side wall ventilating passages, and means associated with the side walls for holding the cover in place.

4s. A. shipping container for small live animals, comprising a sheet bottom, sheet sides connected with the bottom and provided at various heights with ventilating passages, a cross partition between the sides, some portion of the upper edge of said partition lying below the upper edges of side walls, and a perforated sheet cover lying' between two opposite side walls and resting upon the partition above some of the incense side wall ventilating passages and below some 01 said passages.

A shipping container for small live animals, comprising a sheet bottom, sheet sides connected with the bottom and provided at various heights with ventilating passages, a cross partition between the sides,

some portion of the upper edge of said partition lying below the upper edges of side walls, and a perforated sheet cover lying between twoopposite side walls and resting upon the partition above some of the side wall ventilating passages and below some of said passages, and means associated with the side walls for holdingthe cover in place.

('5. A shipping container for small live animals, comprising a sheet bottom; sheet side walls connected with the bottom and provided at various heigths with vent-ilating passages; a cross partition having some or its upper edge lower than the tops of side walls, and a ventilating sheet cover lying bctwecntwo opposite side walls and upon the other two opposite side wallsand upon the-partition above some of the side wall ventilating passages and below other or such passages; and means for medially holding the cover in place.

7. A shipping container for small live ill] animals comprising a sheet bottom, sheetsides connected with the bottom and provided with ventilating passages, and a ventilating sheet cover overlying the mouth of the boa and medially depressed below upper edges of the sides and supported by the sides, whereby portions of said cover sheet, supported by the box, will be higher than other portions so that an article placed upon the cover not block theventilating passages in the lower portions of said cover. l

8. A shipping container for small live animals comprising a sheet bottom, sheet sidewalls connected with the bottom and provided'with ventilating passages, apartition extending between side walls and a ventilating sheet cover resting upon said partition so that some of the eovers ventilating passages will lie below the top edge of the supporting partition.

9. A shipping container for small live animals coin rising a sheet body, sheet sides connected with the bottom and provided with ventilating passages, a cross partition having some of its upper edge lower than the tops of said walls, and a ventilating sheet cover overlying the mouth of the box and medially depressed and supported by the partition, whereby portions 01" said cover sheet, supported by;t-he box, will be higher than the portion of the cover supported by the partition so that an article placed upon the cover'may not block the ventilating, passages in said cover.

10. A. shipping container for small live animals comprising a sheet bottom, sheet tition so that some of its ventilating passide Walls connected with the bottom and sages will lie below a level of article supportprovided With ventilating passages, a paring portions of said cover. 10 tition extending between side Walls and hav- In Witness whereof I have hereunto set 5 ing its upper edge at a different level from my hand at Indianapolis, Indiana.

the tops of the side Walls, and a-ventilating sheet cover resting upon side Walls and par- JOHN WILLARD BOLTE. 

